Dartmouth's Chebucto Ford headed to Portland Street

Chebucto Ford owner Al MacPhee is moving the Dartmouth dealership to Portland Street from Main Street, where it has been for the past three decades. (PETER PARSONS / Staff / File)

Chebucto Ford is on the move.

And with 42,000 daily passersby, Portland Street in Dartmouth is the obvious choice, said owner and veteran auto dealer Al MacPhee.

“There is nowhere else where you can get that visibility,” MacPhee, president of the Canadian Automobile Dealers Association, said Thursday.

“Dartmouth is the best place to do business and Portland Street is becoming a destination for these (auto) franchises.”

Chebucto Ford has called Main Street in Dartmouth home for the past three decades, but next week, the dealership will begin its relocation to the former Forbes Chevrolet at 580 Portland St., just a few hundred metres from the MacPhee Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac Ltd., which Steele Auto Group purchased from MacPhee last year.

The showroom of the former Forbes dealership will be demolished Monday and resurrected as MacPhee Ford.

Once complete, the new dealership will boast a larger showroom and car lot, as well as an expanded service centre and parts and mechanical departments. The staff at Chebucto Ford will be offered jobs at MacPhee Ford.

The $3-million project is a sign of the strength of the auto industry and the Ford brand, MacPhee said.

“The Ford product is showing great promise. It’s increasing market share and deserves to be housed in a proper showroom.”

The new location will also feature MacPhee Leasing, which offers 1,750 vehicles in a portfolio that includes everything from luxury cars to gravel trucks.